Creative Direction · Campaign Concept · Script · Guerrilla + Experiential Strategy
When First Round’s On Me pivoted from a dating app into an approval-based social app designed to get people off their phones and into real-life plans, the launch couldn’t feel like a tech update.
It needed to feel like tension.
The insight:
New Yorkers are hyper-connected and deeply disconnected at the same time.
We introduced the campaign with a bold, confrontational line:
GET THE F*CK OFF YOUR PHONE, said a social app.
The Street
We developed a wheatpasting campaign across downtown Manhattan, layering posters in nightlife corridors and cultural hotspots. The visual system paired intimate bar and café imagery — beers, cocktails, coffee tables, dim lamps, imperfect moments — with stark, unapologetic typography.
The contrast was intentional.
Warm, analog environments.
Cold, direct messaging.
It felt less like an ad and more like a cultural statement. Almost like the city was talking back to itself.
The Experience
To make the message real, we hosted a No-Phone Launch Party.
Every guest locked their phone in a pouch at the door.
No scrolling.
No photos.
No digital safety net.
Instead, we created social prompts and rules designed to encourage presence and interaction. The brand promise became physical behavior.
The app rewards members with complimentary rounds at curated NYC bars and cafés. But the campaign wasn’t about free drinks.
It was about accountability.
Show up.
Be present.
Make the plan real.
Built in New York.
For people tired of “we should.”